Recipe: Smoked Shoulder Clod

Smoked beef shoulder clod from Chuck's Food Shack. Shoulder clod is a large cut of beef that used to be the most popular form of barbecue in Texas.

Photo: Robin Jerstad /For the San Antonio Express-News

1 beef shoulder clod (about 15 pounds)

¼ cup coarse ground black pepper

¼ cup kosher salt

Instructions: Trim the fat from the shoulder clod as needed. Poke around the meat with your finger, and if you find hard pockets of fat, remove with a knife. If the fat is think or spongy, it’s OK to leave it as is. Keep the layer on the fat-cap side of the meat.

Mix the black pepper and salt in a small bowl and season both sides of the meat liberally. This can be done the night before, with the meat wrapped and refrigerated, or it can be done prior to putting it on the smoker.

Set your smoking device to an internal temperature between 225 and 250 degrees with your wood of choice (hickory or oak recommended), and place an aluminum pan under the spot where you plan to place the meat to catch the drippings. (This will help avoid a potentially messy cleanup.) Place the meat on the smoker with the fat cap facing up.

Shut the lid on the smoker and resist the urge to open it for 4 hours. Just keep feeding the fire to maintain temperature. After 4 hours, rotate the meat 180 degrees based on how you originally positioned it (whether horizontally or vertically) and cook for another 4 hours. Repeat both steps for a total cook time of 16 hours.

At the 16 hour mark, check the internal temperature of the meat with a thermometer. The finished temperature is about 197 degrees; you shouldn’t be near that yet but will have an idea of how much longer the cook will last (likely 3 or 4 more hours).

When the meat hits 197 degrees, remove from the smoker, wrap in aluminum foil and place in a cooler with a towel placed over it. Allow the meat to rest for at least two hours and up to four if needed.

After resting, either slice the meat or break it apart with your hands. It should pull apart easily and be ready to serve.

Note: Shoulder clod is traditionally not stocked for sale in grocery and meat market display cases. They are too big. However, it’s easily available from butchers, and if you ask for it in advance (1-2 days), they can usually arrange to get you one.